Financial abuse through coerced directorships an issue for self managed super

Although it's more frequent with corporates, coercing someone into becoming a company director can also happen in an SMSF.

Published: 23 January 2026
  • national
  • 23 January 2026
  • SMSFAdvisor.com

The Self Managed Super Fund Association (SMSFA) says it's important to identify and close weaknesses that perpetrators can use to financially abuse victim-survivors.

It says abuse can happen with an SMSF that is established with a corporate trustee, and the perpetrator and victim-survivors become directors of the corporate trustee, as well as a member of the SMSF.

“Once the SMSF is established, the perpetrator can coerce or even fraudulently rollover the victim-survivor’s superannuation to the SMSF and illegally access the funds, with or without the victim-survivor’s knowledge,” the association stated.